Tag Archives: politics

Guyana Politics – EXPLOITING THE SENTIMENTS OF THE ELECTORATE – By Ralph Ramkarran

January 17, 2019 – 12:38 am

Ralph Ramkarran

SHARED GOVERNANCE

Conversation Tree Blog – January 12, 2019  – by Ralph Ramkarran

In a lengthy article written in 2011 before the general elections of that year, for “Freedom House” on “Countries at the Crossroads 2011: Guyana,” Assistant Professor Joan Mars, of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice of the University of Michigan-Flint, said: “Elections are constitutionally due to be held in 2011.

Calls by the political opposition for shared governance have not been endorsed by the ruling PPP/C administration headed by President Jagdeo; with its consistent absolute majority in parliament, the PPP/C has had little incentive to agree to share power, but the idea may be gathering momentum as a major rallying point in the forthcoming elections.“ Assistant Professor Mars, a former practising lawyer in Guyana, concluded: “The current system of majority rule should be reformed to provide for a power-sharing model that is representative of the ethnic diversity in the population.           Continue reading →

By guyaneseonline | Posted in Guyana, History, Personalities, Philosophy, Politics | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Guyana: The Government’s Fall Was Always A Distinct Possibility – by Ralph Ramkarran

December 23, 2018 – 12:03 am

Ralph Ramkarran

Posted on December 22, 2018 – by Ralph Ramkarran – Conversation Tree Blog

What transpired in the National Assembly on Friday evening was always a distinct possibility, with the Government’s one seat majority. Election results mean something. In 2011, the electorate told the PPP/C that it wants that party to join in a coalition to manage the affairs of the nation. The PPP/C ignored the message. The electorate removed it from office in 2015. Then it proceeded to give the APNU+AFC coalition a mere one seat majority.

This conveyed another message – that the APNU+AFC coalition government should proceed cautiously and engage with the Opposition.             Continue reading →

By guyaneseonline | Posted in Commentary, Government, Guyana, Personalities, Politics, Racial Conflict | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Guyana Politics: The Familiar Ring of the Elections Season – By Ralph Ramkarran

October 12, 2018 – 12:22 am

The Familiar Ring of the Elections Season 

By Ralph Ramkarran – 6th October 2018

Local government elections are to be held on November 12. With it, the never-ending stream of suspicions emerged as the Government established new local government units and merged others. The Opposition argued that these were done to give an advantage to the Government and the Opposition, through one of its representatives, promptly launched legal proceedings. This event provided the explanation for the ‘disappearance’ of the Chief Elections Officer, Mr. Keith Lowenfield, on one of the most critical days of the elections process, namely, the day after the submission of lists, when corrections have to be made and defects rectified.       Continue reading →

By guyaneseonline | Posted in History, Local Government | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Wanted former Rice Board accountant arrested in Canada

June 21, 2017 – 12:05 am

Wanted former Rice Board accountant arrested in Canada

Posted by: Denis Chabrol – Demerara Waves – June 20, 2017

Former accountant at the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Peter Ramcharran was Tuesday morning (june 20, 2017), nabbed in Canada less than one month after a Guyana court issued an arrest warrant for him.

Well-placed sources said the Toronto Fugitive Squad of the Canadian Border Services Agency arrested Ramcharran.

He remained in custody and would be granted an immigration hearing.    Continue reading →

By guyaneseonline | Posted in Business, crime and Investigations, Economics/Finance, Government, Guyana, Personalities, Politics | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

CLUTCHING AT STRAWS – by Ralph Ramkarran

December 3, 2015 – 12:03 am

 CLUTCHING AT STRAWS

Ralph Ramkarran

Ralph Ramkarran

Posted on November 28, 2015   –  by  – ConversationTree Blog

The announcement by Government that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Fedders Lloyd, a reputable Indian company, relating to the Specialty Hospital project, has attracted several negative comments. During the life of the last government, the then Opposition consisting of both the AFC and APNU had refused to support the Specialty Hospital.

The AFC’s opposition was founded on the suspect award of the contract to Surendra Engineering, a spare parts supplier, rather than Fedders Lloyd, which had a track record in the construction of such facilities and had made the lowest bid. APNU argued that Guyana needed improved primary care centres, rather than a specialized facility. One high official suggested that ‘Indians’ were ‘taking over.’ Chinese and Brazilian immigrants, who should be applauded for their valuable contributions to Guyana, were spared.    Continue reading →

By guyaneseonline | Posted in Commentary, Governance, Government, Guyana, Personalities | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Black Churches in America – By Dr Dhanpaul Narine

July 29, 2015 – 12:22 am

Black Churches in America – By Dr Dhanpaul Narine

Black Churches Burned

Black Churches Burned

It is 1758 and a slave reports on the condition of Blacks. He says, ‘the white folks would come in when the colored people would have prayer meetings, and whip every one of them. Most of them thought that when colored people were praying it was against them.’ In 2105 in Charleston, South Carolina, a weapon that was deadlier than the whip was used and it brought tragic results.

Black churches were a cause of concern to the White establishment during and after slavery. A Black congregation was seen as a threat to White supremacy. The congregation was an example of faith, togetherness, and the ownership of property and this did not sit well with Whites. When Whites in the South wanted excitement they would set fire to Black churches. The flames provided relief from boredom and sent a message to Blacks to mind their message and manners.  Continue reading →

By guyaneseonline | Posted in Commentary, Governance, Personalities, Philosophy, Religion, USA Politics and Economy | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Guyana Politics: Things to do on a Honeymoon – by Ralph Ramkarran

July 20, 2015 – 3:29 am
Ralph Ramkarran

Ralph Ramkarran

Things to do on a Honeymoon

Posted on July 18, 2015 – by Ralph Ramkarran – Conversation Tree Blog

It is only fair that the traditional honeymoon period of three months of the new APNU+AFC administration be exhausted before its performance is assessed. The Government has a plan against which a judgment will be made. It is called the hundred-day programme. Little is heard of it nowadays but we, the people, who are intended to be its beneficiaries, are looking forward anxiously to its fulfillment.

The public is not familiar with the inner workings of Governments and we acknowledge that urgent events are demanding attention. Last week it was the heavy rains and flooding which required top priority – a 4 am Cabinet meeting. It is not known if all Ministers were able to make it.   Continue reading →

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THE FALL OF THE PPP – by Ralph Ramkarran

May 25, 2015 – 6:51 am

 THE FALL OF THE PPP

Ralph Ramkarran

Ralph Ramkarran

Posted on May 23, 2015 – by Ralph Ramkarran

The PPP’s boast has always been that it never lost elections. While it gained the highest votes in 1964, it was the PNC that was invited to form the government, which it did in coalition with the United Force. The slogan of ‘cheated not defeated’ resounded through the decades. The slogan is once again rearing its head.

The claim that it lost as a result of fraud allows it to maintain the delusion, for the benefit of its supporters, that it has never lost elections. This also serves to protect its leaders and policies from critical analysis and corrective action and revive its historic claims to victimology, now of an openly posturing ethnic political entity, to sustain the sympathy of its innocent supporters against the tribal hordes. Continue reading →

By guyaneseonline | Posted in Government, Guyana, History, Personalities, Politics | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

The Tragedy of the Boat People: The Sea is not a Cemetery – By: Dhanpaul Narine

May 24, 2015 – 3:02 am

The Tragedy of the Boat People: The Sea is not a Cemetery

Dr. Dhanpaul Narine

Dr. Dhanpaul Narine

By: Dhanpaul Narine

It is brutal, heartless and disgraceful and it happens in oceans of despair.  It has been called slavery of the 21st century, an emergency and a crisis that defies description. The Mediterranean boat crisis continues to grab the attention of the world as politicians scramble to devise solutions. There was a time when the boats ferrying souls seeking a better life would disappear in the seas with little thought given to them. But these are modern times with the social media bringing to our doorsteps the plight of the boat people.

Can the world show compassion to a segment of the population that is asking for a second chance? This may appear to be a simple question but in reality the boat crisis is interwoven with politics, wars, poverty and countries seeking to secure their borders at all costs.  The problem of the boat people has not just arrived at the door of Europe. It has a history written with the indelible ink of cruelty that began in the developing world.   Continue reading →

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Jagdeo and the PPP – Lifestyle and Politics – by Ralph Ramkarran

March 24, 2015 – 1:44 am

JAGDEO AND THE PPP – LIFESTYLE AND POLITICS

Ralph Ramkarran

Ralph Ramkarran

Posted on March 21, 2015 –  by

In an article for my blog, www.conversationtree.gy, published in SN last Sunday, I took issue with a statement by former President Jagdeo that implied that Cheddi and Janet Jagan lived in luxury. His argument that the Jagans lived such a lifestyle, comparable to his own at the time his house was built, was an attempt to justify his own Cadillac lifestyle, which over the past few years has come under severe scrutiny and criticism.

There were outraged responses by many people to Jagdeo’s statement, including from Clem Seecharran and, more indirectly, Peter Fraser, two distinguished Guyanese historians living and working in the UK. But the most telling came from Nadira Jagan-Brancier, the Jagan daughter, Dr. Tulsie Dyal Singh and Sadie Amin. Dr. Singh, who conferred with Dr Jagan about his medical condition just before he died and visited his home, said that his own family home in Palmyra on the Corentyne when he was growing up in the 1950s was of similar size to the Jagan home. Sadie Amin gave a description of the modest lifestyle and home of the Jagans, including its leaking roof.   Continue reading →

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